Andy Black Wins Second Straight Match at Party Poker Premier League

Andy Black had gotten off to a bad start in the Party Poker Premier League by finishing in last place in his first match, but then immediately bounced back with a victory in his second match. On Day 3 Black took down another victory, bringing him to 18 points and guaranteeing that he would either finish day 3 in second place or tied with Tony Guoga for first, pending the outcome of Tony Guoga’s match later in the day.

The first match of Day 3 held Andy Black, Roland de Wolfe, Phil Hellmuth, Juha Helppi, Ian Frazer, and Eddy Scharf at the table. Juha Helppi had two points to start the day and needed to finish near the top of his match on Day 3 to have a realistic chance of making it to the final table. Unfortunately for Helppi, he finished in last place for the second time. Helppi faced off against Andy Black before the flop, Helppi holding [Ac][Jd] while Black held [6c][6h]. The flop of [Kd][10d][10h] gave Helppi a straight draw but did not otherwise help. The turn was the [4d] giving Helppi a flush draw to go with his straight draw and his overcards. Despite all the outs he had, none of them came on the river. Instead it was the [5h], and Helppi ended Day 3 with the same number of points he came in with.

Phil Hellmuth would continue his streak of disappointing performances when he finished in fifth place. Hellmuth had just dropped a big pot and tried to get back some chips when he pushed all-in with [Ah][Jc]. He found three callers, Eddy Scharf, Roland de Wolfe, and Andy Black. Everyone checked when the flop came [10h][8d][3c]. The [Kh] fell on the turn, and Scharf bet out. The other players scattered, and the [3h] on the river did not help Hellmuth. Scharf revealed [Kc][Js] for the better pair and Hellmuth was gone.

Roland de Wolfe would end up as the fourth place finisher after he moved all-in with [Kc][9s]. Andy Black held pocket queens and made the call. A queen fell on the flop to give Black his set and de Wolfe’s hand did not improve. Roland de Wolfe would add two points to his total on Day 3.

Andy Black was tearing through the field, having eliminated two of the three players who had fallen. Ian Frazer was the next player to take on Black, raising preflop with [As][Jd]. Black raised all-in with [Ac][Kh] and Frazer called. The flop gave Frazer some help with [Jc][10c][2c] but also gave Black a flush draw. The turn card was revealed, [Jh], and Black would need a club to eliminate Frazer. The club came on the river as the [5c] and Frazer’s day was done.

Andy Black took a considerable chip lead into his heads-up battle with Eddy Scharf and used it to his advantage, as heads-up play only lasted seven hands. Knowing he needed to pick up a lot of chips fast, Eddy Scharf moved all-in before the flop with [2d][2s] and was called by Black, who was holding [Ad][10s]. The flop came down [Kh][Kd][6h], no help for Black. The turn was [9d], no help for Black. The last card was dealt, and it was [As], a lot of help for Black. The river card gave Black the pot and the victory.

Andy Black has now won two matches in a row and is looking very strong with his 18 points heading into Day 4.